05 October 2023 , 09:25
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Two brave migrant men put their own lives in peril to rescue a group of tourists trapped inside a bus after it plunged down a gorge in Venice.
Gambian nationals Boubakar Toure, 27, and Godstime Erheneden 30, were cooking their supper at their home in the Italian town of Mestre, which sits across from sea-surrounded Venice on the Italian mainland. But as they were getting ready to eat, they heard huge crashing sounds as the tourist vehicle smashed through a safety rail and tumbled down the steep cavern.
Both men - who have lived in Italy for a number of years - ran straight out to the scene of the accident around 300ft away from their front door. But as they got closer, the bus erupted in flames and made it extremely dangerous to attempt a rescue. Mr Toure, 27, who works as a scaffolder, said: “I was cooking rice at home when I heard a very loud noise. I thought it was an earthquake. Godstime ran in and said he had seen the bus fall from the overpass.”
One of the men recalled pulling a little girl from the vehicle, which was on fire, but feared she may have been already dead (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)As they reached the bus, they realised it had been completely flipped by the impact, with its wheels left spinning in the air. The coach was returning from the City of Water, taking a group of Germans, Croats, French and Ukrainians, to their campsite on the mainland.
Speaking to Corriere della Sera, Mr Toure added: "I could hear people screaming, they were trapped inside and calling for help. We pulled out a woman with her young daughter and then a man and then I pulled out a dog. They all seemed to be alive. Then I peered inside the wreckage and I saw the driver – he was dead. I wanted to save more people, they were screaming, but the flames were growing higher and they became too fierce. I had to retreat.”
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Welder Mr Erneheden recalled a woman crying out to him in English, begging him to "take my daughter" - a two-year-old girl who he said was unconscious, and he feared was dead. "I’m very upset – she was the same age as my son. It’s almost as if I have lost him,” he said. Police and firefighters arrived at the scene to find the pair desperately trying to help the survivors. The current death toll stands at 21 people, including two children, with another 18 passengers injured.
An initial probe into the circumstances of the accident is underway, with some speculation that the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel. Cops are also investigating if he might have suffered a seizure or experienced another health incident. The driver, who was tragically killed in the collision, was identified as 40-year-old Alberto Rizzotto.